Blackjack etiquette for dealers

Many of us have witnessed a wide range of dealer behavior -- from courteous to surly. I have a question for the group, regarding one scenario in particular. Let's call it the pump fake. You've given the signal to stay on a hand but instantly realize you should hit and stutter "I'm sorry -- hit me." How should the dealer respond?

I'm ashamed to say I've done this several times, and each time the dealer was happy to hit my hand as long as I had "caught" him before moving on. But one time I saw a guy do the exact same thing and the dealer barked, "No, you said stay and that's that." So was the dealer out of line? A signal is a signal, but I just don't know.

The rule of thumb I generally use is that you are not too late until the next player has made a decision. So if I had pulled the next card out of the shoe then it would be too late. I personally always confirm the decision, and pretty much most times the players realise straight away.

Is it possible the dealer normally deals poker? In poker, actions are binding, so maybe....?

Most dealers would appropriately let you change your mind as long as the dealer didn't act on the original decision yet. I'd say you just had a mean grouchy dealer. That is a downside to tip pooling. That dealer probably thought he had no incentive to provide good service, because he would have to split his tips with 100 other dealers.

When i've spaced out once and awhile and chose to hit instead of stay when I had a close to made hand, the dealer has usually asked me if I was sure about it, giving me a couple seconds to realize what I'd done and change my mind. Most dealers that I've played with seem to give you a subtle hint that staying or hitting is the best idea, usually by eye contact or body language, just so you can double check before the choice becomes final.

some dealers are just jerks. I was at mandalay bay this month (busy table on a friday) and surrendered on a hard 16 vs a dealer ace. I made eye contact, said "surrender" and made the line gesture. I promptly got another card. I politley restated "excuse me, i surrendered" and proceeded to get chewed out by the dealer, for HIS error. I guess he wanted me to do a dance or something to flag the surrender... The pitboss came over and was cool though.

I've only played maybe a dozen sessions. The dealers I have had will usually confirm a bad decision, like a newbie verbally saying "hit" but waving their hand back and forth for "stand." Even though the hand signal is binding they sort of confirmed it.

Now if you are not talking and just signaling my experience is a good dealer will use voice inflection to confirm a contrary BS play. Say a plaer 12 vs 4 upcard and you motion for hit the dealer would say "hit?" and raise their voice pitch just a little at the end so as to say "are you sure" without saying "are you sure?" The player's reaction will define if a dealer will do that again. A "thanks" they will or a Ken Uston "just deal-that's why they call you a DEALER" will ensure they let you double your 12 vs a 6 upcard.

I agree though, that if the next plaer acts then you lost your chance for redemption.

I think you need to factor in the nature of the casino. Obviously, casinos (like any business) are trying to make money. But in the small mom-and-pop operations, I've seen a lot friendlier dealers in terms of providing advice and giving you the opportunity to change your mind.

In the Vegas strip casinos, they seem to give you a moment to reconsider on a particularly bad decision -- but because of other players and pit bosses, they can't sit there forever.

At a little blackjack table in a North Dakota bar (that's legal up there, mind you), they were willing to let us try to talk our friends out of particularly bad decisions. Like when one buddy had a 20 against a dealer 6, betting the table max of $25. Somebody suggested "dude, double-down on that!" as a joke, but our buddy was slightly inebriated and thought it was a wise move. Then we all tried to reason with him for a solid 2 minutes about how that was a dumb call... and the dealer waited for us to give him the shoulder-shrug, "we tried" look before he gave our buddy that extra card. From my experiences in Vegas, that never would have happened, as within 5-to-10 seconds that unwise decision would be finalized... but in the smaller "casino/bar" where people went to the table just to kill time inbetween beers as opposed to visiting the casino/bar solely for gambling... they let it slide.

Oh, and not that it matters, but he doubled-down and got a 10. He quickly realized that a 30 was a bust, and gave us the "I'm drunk and just blew $50, where was my help?" look. But he recovered and, after I left for the night, ended up walking away up $800.

Quote: FlavorFlav

...one buddy had a 20 against a dealer 6...
...he doubled-down and got a 10...

I thought you were going to tell us he drew an ace!

But a better move, one that is still ill-advised but screws with EVERYONE's head, would have been to split.

Keep that in mind the next time your buddys have too many beers!

Oh, I know about that one (the "mess with their heads by splitting 10s" idea). Tropicana, Atlantic City, 2005. It was a Sunday around brunch time, so it was a low-threat and friendly atmosphere, perfect for somebody brand new to gambling like me. I was playing $5/hand blackjack with my trusty strategy card, never straying from what it told me.

Then I misread the card... I was going to split 10s against a dealer 5.

The nice old woman sitting next to me nearly had a heart attack -- she grabbed my hands and advised me "NEVER SPLIT 10s!" Everybody went quiet for a few seconds. It felt like one of those moments when you're at the family dinner table and bring up the one topic of conversation that everybody has been avoiding.

I realized my mistake, and the dealer let me change my mind (maybe because he knew the old woman was trying to protect me, and if he offended her then her huge stack of chips might walk away and never come back). Won the hand, and will always remember the nice old woman's advice :)

Quote: FlavorFlav

Then I misread the card... I was going to split 10s against a dealer 5.

Yeah, boy. I've actually done that. If the count is extremely high it is the right play. This was before I knew that splitting tens is a big red flag that you're either counting or an idiot. Agreed, other players don't like it, but who cares.

I'm with the Wizard...I've played Blackjack long enough to be very friendly at the table, and I don't really care what they think of my play. But more importantly, I don't care how they play their hands. If they want help, I'll give it, if not, I enjoy seeing 10s split and 14's doubled, just to break the cycle. They don't even feel like "stories" anymore. It's happened so many times.